Following a two-year search for the right location from which Jenna Barker would launch the next chapter of her two-decade career in the restaurant business, the setting revealed itself when the former owner and manager of the No. 3 Grill in Spruce Pine made a trip to downtown Black Mountain with her husband.
“From the second I walked in the door, there was just an unexplained feeling that this is it,” said the founder of the the Tuscan Table, which opened, Sept. 17, in a recently renovated space on 203 West State Street. From that moment, the unique and intimate design shaped the story from there.
The veteran chef, who trained under multiple chefs in a diverse array of kitchens, dreamed of opening a restaurant in her own building since discovering her passion for creative techniques and recipes as a senior in high school. Even after taking over a well-established restaurant in the Skyline Village Inn and the Grassy Creek Golf Course & Country Club, Barker pursued professional growth…